Sony FE 16-35mm F2.8 GM And FE 12-24mm F4 G Sample Images
New 16-35mm F2.8 GM Completes the E-mount F2.8 G Master “trinity”; 12-24mm F4 G covers widest angle among all full-frame E-mount lenses
The first images from the just-announced new wide-angle FE 16-35mm F2.8 GM and FE 12-24mm F4 G lenses have been posted by David Schloss on our content partner, DP Mag’s site.
As David wrote
The 16-35mm F2.8 GM closed the company’s gap in what many call the “trinity” of zoom lenses, which usually includes a wide-angle like the 16-35mm, a 24-70mm and a 70-200mm. With the release of the 16-35mm in August, the company will have fleshed out their must-have lenses for the working pro wedding, event, news and sports shooters.
And
The 12-24mm F4 G is an ultra-wide-angle lens that’s particularly targeted at architectural, landscape, real estate and other fields where a wide-angle is necessary but so is critical sharpness at the edges.
Looking at the images, both lenses have minimal distortion and superb edge-to-edge sharpness. With both internal design elements and external coatings designed to reduce both flare and ghosting, flare is noticeably absent from both of the lenses.
David shot both the 16-35mm F2.8 G Master and 12-24 F4 G lenses with subjects. Of particulat interest to me, as a photographer of bicycles is the lack of CA in this image
Sony’s goal is to make lenses that are both sharp but provide excellent bokeh and they’ve been delivering on that since the first G masters were released.
Lens Features
(From Sony’s PR)
FE 16-35mm F2.8 GM
The wide-angle zoom lens features exceptional corner-to-corner sharpness, with an optical design that includes five aspherical elements, two of which are Sony’s original XA (extreme aspherical) elements that reduce aberration and delivers the ultimate resolution throughout the entire zoom and aperture range. The front XA element on the FE 16-35mm F2.8 GM is the largest XA element ever produced, ensuring optimum quality. Additionally, two ED (Extra-low-Dispersion) glass elements keep chromatic aberration to a minimum while maximizing resolution, and Sony’s original Nano AR coating suppresses internal reflections to ensure excellent image contrast and clarity.
The lens features a near circular aperture shape at all settings, and the combination of the aforementioned XA element with its 11 blade aperture design produces images with sharply focused subjects and beautifully defocused backgrounds or “bokeh”. It also has two DDSSMs (Direct Drive SSM) that compose a floating focusing system and ensure that AF acquisition is speedy and quiet, making it an ideal choice for shooting still images as well as movies.
FE 12-24mm F4 G
The ultra wide-angle zoom lens produces outstanding image quality in a compact, lightweight design, weighing in at approximately 20 oz. Sony’s widest full-frame E-mount lens, it offers a dynamic perspective for landscape, architecture and interior photography, and is well-suited for both stills and video shooting.
The lens features an innovative optical design with four aspherical elements that ensure excellent corner to corner sharpness and resolution. Additionally, the lens has three ED glass elements and one Super ED glass element that minimize chromatic aberration throughout the entire image, and also includes Sony’s original Nano AR coating.
The new FE 12-24mm F4 G lens includes a DDSSM (Direct Drive SSM) for fast, quiet and precise AF performance, plus a customizable focus hold button and focus mode switch.
Pricing and Availability
The new FE 16-35mm F2.8 GM Wide-angle Zoom Lens will ship this August and will be sold for about $2,200 US. The new FE 12-24mm F4 G Ultra wide-angle Zoom Lens will ship this July sold for about $1,700 US.